Blaine Calkins is the Conservative Party of Canada's Member of Parliament (MP) candidate for the Ponoka-Didsbury riding.
Voters head to the polls on Monday, April 28, with advance voting taking place April 18 - 21.
CentralAlbertaOnline.com reached out for an interview with Calkins, however an interview was not granted at the time of publication.
This is one installment of our Meet the Candidate series.
Below is the bio listed on Calkins' website:
Blaine Calkins is a Canadian Member of Parliament for the federal constituency of Red Deer – Lacombe.
He has been a member of the Conservative Party of Canada since 2006 and is one of their longest-serving MPs.
In October 2022, Calkins was appointed as the Official Opposition Shadow Minister for Hunting, Angling, and Conservation. He is also the current Chair of the Conservative Hunting and Angling Caucus and is known for being passionate about his constituents, his province, and his country.
Before being elected as the Member of Parliament for Red Deer – Lacombe, Calkins represented the constituency of Wetaskiwin in the House of Commons of Canada prior to the 2015 federal election. Throughout his time as a Parliamentarian, Calkins has held several key positions including Deputy Shadow Minister for Parks and the Environment, Chair of the Alberta Conservative Caucus, Chair of the Legislative Committee for Bill C-18 (Ending the Canadian Wheat Board Monopoly), The Chair of the Subcommittee of Finance for Bill C-38 (Jobs, Growth and Prosperity Act), the Chair of the Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics Committee, and served on numerous other standing committees including Public Safety, National Defence, Justice, Environment, Fisheries and Oceans, and Veterans Affairs. In 2022, Calkins served as the Chief Opposition Whip during the tenure of the Interim Leader Candice Bergen.
Blaine Calkins is married to his wife Barbara, and together they have three children. Blaine and his family reside in Lacombe, not far from the family farm where he was raised. In his spare time, he likes to escape to the outdoors for camping and fishing as much as possible.
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